Chapter 8: Uninvited Guests

"Oh, I heard that clues regarding the First Prince had appeared within the Ling City territory, so the Sect Leader sent me to investigate. Since my fiancée is also in Ling City, I thought I would stop by to see her as well. I hadn't expected Junior Sister Liu to be visiting an old acquaintance. My apologies for interrupting your reunion."

The man smiled gently.

Liu Cui'er frowned and suddenly took the bracelet off her wrist. "So this bracelet was for tracking. And here I thought you were truly being kind by giving it to me, Senior Brother Shangguan."

The man spread his hands with a look of feigned innocence. "Junior Sister, don't wrong me." He looked at her with a wronged expression and explained, "I was only worried about you being harmed by villains, which is why I specifically had someone add the tracking stone."

Liu Cui'er forced a stiff smile. "Haha, is that so?"

She lowered her head, picked up the cloth bag from the table, and walked over to the man she called Senior Brother Shangguan. Feigning composure, she said, "Senior Brother Shangguan, let's go back."

"Wait." The man refused her, squinting as he looked at Wang Chu. "Since we are both here, aren't you going to introduce me? To just leave like this wouldn't be very polite, would it?"

Liu Cui'er bit her lower lip. "There is nothing to introduce. He is just a shopkeeper. I came here only to buy something." She held up the cloth bag in her hand. "These are the wedding shoes for our ceremony."

The man glanced down at the bag, snatched it from her hand, took a quick peek inside, and then tossed it carelessly to the side. He said indifferently, "Junior Sister, are you looking down on me?"

Liu Cui'er looked at the bag lying on the floor, a spark of anger in her eyes. "Why would you say that, Senior Brother?"

The man looked around. "In a dump like this, how good could any wedding shoes be? If you wore these to our wedding ceremony, wouldn't I be the laughingstock of everyone?"

Liu Cui'er clenched her fists. "Senior Brother, that is going too far!"

The man looked nonchalant. "What, does it hurt your feelings?"

Liu Cui'er frowned. "You..."

The man's smile vanished, and his tone turned icy. "Liu Cui'er, Liu Cui'er, I really never expected that the one who acts so high and mighty in the sect was just putting on an act! So, you can be charming, and you can cry in front of others, too? Ha, I was truly a fool to think you were different from other women."

Liu Cui'er's cheeks flushed. "Senior Brother Shangguan, what do you mean by that?"

The man's expression became savage. "What do I mean? You wretch, I actually thought you were here to pay respects to your parents. It turns out you came back to reminisce with a lover! If I had known this, I shouldn't have racked my brain trying to trap you; I should have just turned you into my cultivation cauldron!"

Liu Cui'er looked stunned and indignant. "A cultivation cauldron? You!"

The man sneered. "Do you know why your cultivation resources were so pitifully scarce? That was all my doing. Do you know why the other disciples in the sect distanced themselves from you? That was also at my instruction."

"I originally thought that in doing so, you would realize how precious the charity and care I gave you were, and that you would learn to cherish them..." As he spoke, his smile gradually faded. "I never imagined that you would... Damn you, truly damn you!"

Hearing this, Liu Cui'er finally understood why her life in the sect had been so difficult. It was all because someone had been working against her from the shadows!

"Shangguan Ming, you are despicable! You are unworthy of being a disciple of an orthodox sect!"

Shangguan Ming gave a disdainful laugh. "What is an orthodox sect? The side with the most power is the righteous side. In this world, power is supreme. Do you know why I must marry you?"

He scanned Liu Cui'er with a greedy gaze. "It is all because of your constitution. This world is truly unfair. I am the Sect Leader's son, yet I only have the lowest-grade spiritual root with all five elements, while you, Liu Cui'er, the daughter of a noodle shop owner, possess a dual water-wood spiritual root! By what right does the descendant of an ant have better cultivation aptitude than me?"

Shangguan Ming's expression grew twisted and dark. "Fortunately, I have a good father! He found me a dual-cultivation technique. As long as I use this technique, I can use your body to increase my own cultivation speed."

At this point, a long sword suddenly appeared in Shangguan Ming's hand. "I intended to treat you well to avoid complications, but you have truly disappointed me. You have already entered the Immortal Sect, yet you still want to maintain ties with a vulgar mortal like this. Disgusting, you truly disgust me!"

Liu Cui'er watched the long sword in Shangguan Ming's hand begin to glow with a crimson light. Her heart trembled, and her boundless anger turned into worry. She stepped in front of the sword, blocking Shangguan Ming's view. "It was my mistake. Please, spare him. There is truly nothing between us; I only came here to remember the past."

Shangguan Ming laughed coldly and raised his other hand. "I intend to kill him, and I will! Wretch, get out of my way!"

With those words, Shangguan Ming's palm struck directly toward Liu Cui'er's face. Although Shangguan Ming's innate talent for cultivation was poor, the time he had been cultivating and the resources he received daily were far beyond what Liu Cui'er could ever hope for.

Shangguan Ming was now at the second stage of the Foundation Establishment Realm, while Liu Cui'er was only at the sixth stage of the Qi Refining Realm. A strike like this was something she could not possibly withstand.

Unable to dodge, Liu Cui'er was about to be sent flying by Shangguan Ming's palm.

In that split second, a slender hand casually caught Shangguan Ming's wrist, preventing him from moving forward.

"So, you don't like Liu-er at all, do you?"

Shangguan Ming looked at Wang Chu, who had suddenly appeared beside him, asking the question with a blank expression. He was shocked at first, then filled with boundless rage. How could he, the young master of Mount Qingcheng and its future leader, have his wrist grabbed by a mortal who sold spirit paper?

"Heh, if you mean her body, then naturally I like it. After all, through yin-yang union with her, I can..."

*Crack!*

"Ah!"

First came the crisp sound of bone breaking in the room, followed by a scream. The source of both sounds was Shangguan Ming.

Wang Chu’s face remained expressionless. "I see."

As the words fell, Shangguan Ming felt the agonizing pain in his wrist suddenly vanish. He instinctively looked down at his wrist and his eyes widened like copper coins. His hand had completely disappeared!

Immediately after, he realized that his torso and his legs were scattering into the air like dust caught in the wind. At this rate, he estimated that within moments, his entire existence would vanish from this world!

For the first time, Shangguan Ming felt despair and terror. He looked at Wang Chu with a warning gaze and threatened, "Do you know who my father is? If you kill me, the entire Ling City will be buried with me!"

Wang Chu smiled. "Do not be afraid. Although your physical body is disappearing, your soul remains. I will send you to the Ming Realm to grant you eternal life. The only price you must pay is to endure some suffering there."

"The... the Ming Realm!"

Upon hearing those words, Shangguan Ming's soul trembled. The name instantly brought to mind an organization—a terrifying organization that made people turn pale at the mere mention of it.